Open AccessWildlife Harvest and Consumption in Amazonia's Urbanized Wilderness
Author(s) -
Parry Luke,
Barlow Jos,
Pereira Heloisa
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12151
Subject(s) - bushmeat , wildlife , wilderness , amazon rainforest , urbanization , geography , consumption (sociology) , biodiversity , wildlife trade , wildlife conservation , environmental protection , natural resource economics , ecology , economic growth , economics , social science , sociology , biology
Urbanization of forested wilderness could threaten biodiversity if expanding cities drive demand for wildlife as food. We examined the scale and drivers of urban wildlife consumption in the forested prefrontier of Brazilian Amazonia, defined as municipalities ( n = 73) with over 90% of their original forest cover still intact. A representative survey of two prefrontier cities indicated that virtually all urban households consume wildlife, including fish (99%), bushmeat (mammals and birds; 79%), chelonians (48%) and caimans (28%)—alarming evidence of an underreported wild‐meat crisis in the heart of Amazonia. We also report rapid growth of cities and inadequate resources to deter illegal consumption in this urbanized wilderness covering 1.86 million km 2 . We evaluate relevant policy levers and conclude that poverty‐alleviation programs may accelerate a long‐term transition from consumption of wildlife as an economical source of protein for the poor to luxury food for the wealthy. We argue that innovative environmental governance could limit wildlife consumption to only harvest‐tolerant species. Researchers and policy‐makers should engage with policies and ideas that promote poverty alleviation and supply poor city‐dwellers with affordable alternatives to eating wildlife.